The terrifying scene had frightened the white dog into frantic yelping; it spun around and bolted.
The monster gave direct chase, and both vanished behind a sand dune in moments.
The caravan outrider in the rear column cursed viciously. With one fewer client to escort, his pay would decrease accordingly.
This was the Panlong Desert's greeting to everyone.
The easygoing mood among all the caravans that had witnessed this vanished instantly.
Zeng Feixiong withdrew his gaze and muttered, "It was his own fault. On Red Cliff Road, children and dogs must both be kept on a leash."
"That's the first time I've ever seen such an enormous yellow flounder," He Lingchuan clicked his tongue in wonder. His host body had hunted frequently and knew that a yellow flounder wasn't a fish, but a monster that lurked in deserts and the Gobi, specializing in ambushing small animals that passed by.
In the desert, it could submerge and surface at will, moving faster than four-legged creatures.
Yet at most, these things were only slightly larger than a dog. Even if it had become a demon, it shouldn't have grown to the size they just saw!
"This is the Panlong Desert," said Zeng Feixiong, who had escorted caravans through here many times and was well accustomed to such sights. "Vengeful spirits affect everything here. Even demons that originally possessed intellect will be mutated if they stay in this desert for too long."
That made sense. So even though the sand leopards also hunted in the Panlong Desert, they normally dwelt and bred on West Mountain.
...
The magnificent desert grew monotonous after gazing at it for too long.
The journey was calm and dull. As long as one did not take a single step off Red Cliff Road, one only had to deal with the troubles of hot winds, blazing sun, and sandstorms.
For a well-prepared and experienced caravan, all of this was bearable.
After three full days of travel, the company finally arrived at Baiyuan Station.
This was a relay station on Red Cliff Road used as a resting stop for traveling merchants and voyagers; its predecessor had been an ancient city.
There were once over a dozen ancient cities on the Panlong Wasteland, but after a century or so, very few remained in the world. Baiyuan City had long been swallowed by the yellow sands, but later travelers had excavated its ancient foundations and erected several rows of buildings beside Red Cliff Road.
Within the perimeter of the ancient city, just like on Red Cliff Road, one was safe from attacks by vengeful spirits and monsters, making it an excellent stopover for travelers.
As the column marched into Baiyuan Station, He Chunhua hurried over to negotiate with the station officials.
Indeed, Blackwater City maintained a post station here and dispatched dedicated personnel to manage it. However, oversight here was very loose, far less strict than within Great Yuan proper.
At times like this, in places like this, the power of money showed itself.
Baiyuan Station permitted passing travelers to pitch tents, and food and water were sold here as well. If someone wanted to indulge in luxury, they could also rent a small lodge.
Naturally, the Panlong Desert had no water sources of its own. All food ingredients, fresh water, and building supplies had to be hauled in from Blackwater City.
Where there was demand, there was business. Anyone who wanted to run such a trade first had to smooth things over with the station officials, and then go through immense trouble to transport goods into this barren wasteland. Stacking all the various costs on top of each other, selling a basic set of one steamed bun and one bottle of water for thirty wen wasn't expensive, was it?
A bowl of shredded flatbread in mutton broth—the kind that had only grease and not a single cube of meat—sold for two-tenths of a tael of silver; not expensive, right?
A small lodge for the night cost five taels of silver in rent, and once you stepped inside, you felt as though you'd gotten a bargain, didn't you?
And if you also wanted to soak in a hot bath in the desert to wash away the dust and exhaustion of the road—
National Preceptor Sun, Commandant Nian, and Eldest Young Master He all shared this desire, so Commandery Governor He could only foot the bill.
This expense alone was enough to purchase five mu of prime fertile farmland near Blackwater City—permanent real estate.
After taking a bath and eating several deluxe set meals to fill himself halfway, He Lingchuan finally recovered his energy.
Even with his robust build, these three days of travel had left him utterly exhausted; he wondered how many hardships still lay ahead on the road.
By contrast, He Chunhua still seemed to have plenty of stamina to spare, clearly not as frail and scholarly as he appeared on the surface.
He Lingchuan had also bought several meals for Zeng Feixiong. Otherwise, with Zeng Feixiong's tight purse, he would have had to gnaw on cold steamed buns alongside the soldiers.
Zeng Feixiong felt uneasy about it and declined repeatedly, but he was no match for Eldest Young Master He's insistence. In the end, he had no choice but to accept with sheepish gratitude, thanking him again and again.
Yet He Lingchuan knew this man was straightforward without being rash, and as he was the one leading the troops into the desert this time, He Lingchuan patted his shoulder and said, "Only by eating and drinking well will you have the strength to do your job. The safety of my father and me rests in your hands."
"Lord He and you have treated this humble general with great kindness and resolved my worries for the future. I shall repay you even if it means spilling my brains and blood across the earth!"
"Spilling brains and blood is taking it too far," He Lingchuan chuckled. "By the way, I heard that your father was the only living person to return from the Panlong Ruins?"
Zeng Feixiong's expression darkened slightly. "Yes. Twenty years ago, someone offered a handsome sum to hire him as a guide, and he was the only survivor. But from then on, he lost his wits; even the Great Shaman couldn't cure him. No one knows what happened to them. All day long, he muttered only a single word: 'Water.'"
"Water?" Deserts were indeed parched of water, but what terrible ordeal had Zeng Feixiong's father suffered to remain fixated on water even after going mad?
Just then, Sun Fuping summoned them, gathering the leading figures in his lodge for a meeting.
Guards brought in a large quantity of yellow sand from outside and poured it onto the table.
A simple sand table was thus prepared.
"We have nearly finished traversing Red Cliff Road," Zeng Feixiong gestured and traced lines on the sand table. "The day after tomorrow, we will have to leave the main road and head into the desert. That is when the real test begins."
"Red Cliff Road originally connected directly to Panlong City." As a military supply route, it naturally had to transport troops and provisions right up to the city's edge to serve its purpose. "Not long after the Panlong Wasteland turned into a desert, the nearby mountain peaks collapsed, wiping out this road."
He drew a circle on the sand table: "If we want to reach Panlong City, we must take a long detour and enter through the gap in Mount Ying..."
This long detour was not on Red Cliff Road, vastly increasing the dangers they were about to face.
In comparison, the journey over the past three days seemed as carefree as a holiday.
Next, everyone discussed various countermeasures.
Although bad blood existed between the He father and son and the pair of Sun and Nian, since their very lives were at stake, they discussed things with utmost focus.
He Lingchuan had been listening silently on the side. Only when the discussion had nearly wound down did he voice a confusion that had puzzled him for a long time:
"As an isolated enclave surrounded on all four sides by enemies, Panlong City held out for thirty-two years, an almost godlike feat. What, in the end, caused it to fall?" This was also an enduring mystery of the Panlong Desert. Neither official histories nor local folklore had left behind a definitive account, offering only far-fetched rationalizations through the mouths of storytellers. "Could it truly be as the locals of Blackwater City claim—that Panlong City lost its backbone because Zhong Shengguang succumbed to illness and died?"
People tended to seek a reasonable explanation for unresolved mysteries. Zhong Shengguang had garrisoned Panlong City for over thirty years, grinding on from his youth into old age, and decades of relentless warfare would inevitably inflict severe damage upon mind and body. Among the many legends He Lingchuan had heard, this explanation seemed the most plausible.
He was intensely curious about the truth.
"From the clues in my possession, this legend actually holds some truth; Panlong City indeed lost its backbone." Sun Fuping poured himself a cup of water—clear water that cost twenty wen a cup. "However, it was not Zhong Shengguang, but General Red!"
Chapter 22